Bruce Ely, The OregonianGreg Oden had nine rebounds against Denver, but he remembers the two missed free throws.Greg Oden was only halfway through the agony of defeat when he missed two potential game-winning free throws with 4.6 seconds left Thursday night, essentially sealing the Trail Blazers' stinging loss to Denver at the Rose Garden.

As Oden was beginning to learn, a task just as difficult as making pressure free throws lay ahead: Dealing with, and getting over, the anguish of being a central figure in a loss.

Luckily for Oden, he would soon learn that inside the Blazers locker room, he had comfort in numbers when it comes to late-game failures.

Steve Blake, normally a stellar free throw shooter, last season uncharacteristically missed four of five attempts in the final 20.6 seconds of regulation, which led to a double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at the Rose Garden.

Three seasons ago, Travis Outlaw – one of the best dunkers on the Blazers – had a clear path to the basket against Phoenix, but instead of throwing the ball through the rim, he opted for a layin, which trickled off the rim with 1.6 seconds left in regulation. The Blazers lost in overtime.

And LaMarcus Aldridge was quick to point out that he too should shoulder some of Thursday's loss. He missed a free throw with 35.5 seconds left, reminding him of his senior year in high school, when he when he missed a critical free throw at the end of the Texas semifinals.

Blake, Outlaw and Aldridge all said they would gauge Oden's mood as the team flew to Houston on Friday, which would determine how much, and what type of advice they would offer. Meanwhile, team leader Brandon Roy and coach Nate McMillan said they planned to speak with Oden before tonight's game against the Rockets.

Already a sensitive and impressionable player who has struggled in dealing with pressures of being the No. 1 overall pick, Oden was grim and shaken after the game Thursday. He dressed in slow motion, and spoke to the media in soft, hushed tones.

Although he immediately owned up to the responsibility of missing the two free throws, which came with the Blazers trailing 95-94, he also acknowledged the struggle in front of him.

"I'll have a long night," Oden said after the media horde cleared. "I probably won't sleep thinking about it. It's tough."

Seemingly magnifying the impact of the loss, the Blazers locker room was eerily still. One could hear a sock drop. It was probably the quietest and most somber postgame in the Nate McMillan era.

It may have appeared that Oden was on an island by himself, but the players say it was quite the contrary. For Blake, Outlaw and Aldridge, they knew there was nothing anyone could say that could help Oden right after the game.

"After he missed, I knew what he was feeling, and it doesn't feel good," Blake said on Friday before the team flew to Houston.

Blake remembers getting consolation from teammates and coaches that night. Blake said the words barely registered that night. He said he ended up laying awake all night thinking about the misses.

"With Greg, it's not something he is going to get over by saying something to him," Blake said. "After I missed, what people said didn't mean anything to me, because I knew I let the team down. I mean, it was nice to hear the support from the team, but only time will make it feel better for Greg."

Outlaw said he was able to forget about his missed layin by confronting it head on. After hanging his head around his locker after the game, he went home and watched the replay of his miss. The next day, he said McMillan helped him get over the play by making light of it at a public appearance for the team. In the midst of making a layin in front of the crowd, McMillan told Outlaw, "See Travis, it's easy!"

"The thing is, you just have to accept it. You can't dwell on it and keep thinking about it," Outlaw said. "It's over with, it's done, and there's nothing you can do. Right now, he can go shoot a million free throws and that's not gonna bring it back. You just have to move on and be prepared for it next time."

Aldridge said he found comfort in positive people after he missed the important free throw in high school. His coach, in particular, encouraged him to learn from it.

"I was real hard on myself," Aldridge said. "But my coach was positive with me, encouraging me to get back in the gym. But I think in those situations, it has to be somebody you are close with, who you respect. It can't be just anyone to offer advice."

Roy said he immediately consoled Oden after the game, but planned to have a sit-down with him on the team's flight to Houston on Friday.

"The biggest thing is to let it go," Roy said. "We all miss shots. You are not going to make every one of them. But we are going to need him on Saturday; we have another chance to bounce back. That's what I'm gonna tell him."

McMillan said he intends to use Oden's misses as a teaching tool.

"I talked to him and told him he is going to get that opportunity again," McMillan said after the game. "Because late in ball games, that's part of the reason he is in the game – to make teams make a decision whether to guard Brandon, or leave him under the basket. So when he does get it again, I told him to be aggressive."

Oden shot 63.7 percent from the line last season, and during the preseason he made 72.1 percent, making 31-of-43 attempts. Before his misses Thursday, he had made his only two attempts this season.

"I definitely stepped up there with confidence, thinking I was going to hit it," Oden said. "It didn't go that way. I put this loss on me. I need to step up and make those. They call them free throws for a reason. You gotta make those."

The challenge now, the Blazers say, is making sure Oden boarded Blazer One with only his clothing baggage, and not any emotional baggage.

"I told him 'Don't worry about it, man," Roy said. "It happens to everybody. The biggest thing is you have to move on from it as fast as possible. You don't want to let it linger."

One thing is certain: McMillan said he won't shy away from putting Oden in the same position again.

"That's where you learn about your guys. Can they play in situations or not?" McMillan said. "But now, we play him. We put him in that situation. The thing is, it's tough. It's hard on you mentally. And we will talk about that."

Meanwhile, one by one, Oden's teammates will relay their horror stories, and how they coped and recovered.

"When you get to that next game, you don't think about it ... well, you do, but it's not constantly in your mind like it has been," Blake said. "Even nowadays I find myself thinking about that (Clippers) game. It's just one of those things you learn from and try not to do again. But I'm sure Greg will get by this. After we win on Saturday, it will all be part of the past."